Darryl Kerrigan's The Castle

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Australians have applied "the law of bloody commonsense" to vote Darryl Kerrigan as the film character that most represents who we are as a nation. Over one third of people (37 per cent) believe The Castle - the 1997 film about a working class Melbourne family's fight to save their home - best represents the real Australia, according to a nationwide survey released on Wednesday. Darryl Kerrigan, the movie's working class patriarch played by Michael Caton, was the favourite Aussie film character for 23 per cent of the 1003 people surveyed. Crocodile Dundee, played by Paul Hogan, won 21 per cent of the vote while Muriel (Toni Collette) from Muriel's Wedding came third with 17 per cent. Advertisement Social commentator Bernard Salt said it was quite surprising The Castle…show more content…
Cate Blanchett was declared Australia's leading lady, garnering 41 per cent of the vote, followed by Nicole Kidman at 23 per cent and Toni Collette at 17 per cent. Hugh Jackman is Australia's favourite leading man by far. Jackman won 54 per cent of the vote compared to Russell Crowe's 17 per cent and Sam Worthington's 13 per cent. When asked what Australian values they believed most accurately illustrate the real Australia to the world, 32 per cent of people picked Aussie mateship over lifestyle, at 25 per cent, and landscapes, at 20 per cent. Mr Salt felt this came from Australia's history of battling the elements to survive. "Australia against the odds, battling fire, flood and drought and the need to band together is a common theme in Australia's history," he said. The survey was released by the ADCNSW in the lead-up to two national competitions, Reel Australia and Living Australian, designed to get Australians talking and creatively interpreting what it means to be Australian in 2010. Reel Australia is a short film competition while Living Australian will give the public a chance to express their vision of Australia through

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